The Battle for Moscow

 

"Typhoon" and "Hurricane" crashed on Moscow

The defeat of the Germans in December 1941 can be considered the prologue to the collapse of the Nazi Reich. After an unsuccessful attempt to break through to Moscow in October 1941, it took the German forces about two weeks to prepare a new offensive. Later in their memoirs, German generals, paying tribute to the steadfastness and courage of Soviet soldiers, explained the failure of the October offensive also by the intervention of natural forces – mudslides that prevented the supply of reinforcements, fuel, and food. "Tanks and trucks were stuck in the mud, infantry were left without artillery support, planes were inactive on muddy airfields..." But rasputitsa, and later "General Frost" operated on both sides of the front.

Red on Red

Before the start of the new Wehrmacht offensive, in the first half of November, a significant event took place. It will focus on the military parade on Moscow's Red Square, held on November 7 on the 24th anniversary of the October Revolution. Moscow celebrated the holiday in a state of siege. The evacuation of the city, which began after October 16, the relocation of the government and diplomatic missions from Moscow to the east, and the construction of defensive structures on the streets gave rise to a lot of rumors about the impending surrender of the city, about the flight of Joseph Stalin and the country's leadership from Moscow.

The difficulty of holding the parade was explained, first of all, by the possibility of the Luftwaffe bombers breaking through to Moscow. The German command began bombing the city from the end of July 1941. According to official data, during the entire war, German aircraft carried out 141 raids on the capital of the Soviet Union, involving over 2,200 bombers. The air defense of Moscow (as well as Leningrad) was much more powerful than the air defense system, for example, of London and other cities in England. More than 1,300 anti-aircraft guns and machine guns, aerial barrage balloons, and more than 600 interceptor fighters reliably protected the city from air attacks. Moscow's air defense forces shot down over 200 aircraft.

Before the war, Nadezhda Rudkovskaya lived on Preobrazhenka Street, then on the outskirts of Moscow. In 1940 she entered the Fish Institute. She spent the entire war in Moscow, working at a factory that produced grenades. Her memories cover almost all aspects of Moscow's life during those terrible days. Here is what she wrote in her diary about the first Nazi air raids on Moscow, about the arrival in the capital of the first Siberian divisions that participated in the November defensive battles, and in December 1941 made an undeniable contribution to the defeat of the Germans near Moscow.: "The first massive raid on Moscow was on the night of July 22, a month after the start of the war. Wooden houses and barracks suffered especially from the bombing. There were a lot of them. That night, according to press reports, the Germans dropped about 10,000 incendiary bombs on Yaroslavskoye Highway, Rostokino, and other areas of Moscow. Muscovites were desperately fighting with "lighters". This sizzling muck had to be grabbed with tongs and thrown down – there was sand waiting in the yard – or lowered into a barrel of water, even children were on duty on the roofs. They quickly stopped being afraid...

...November 1941, Moscow. Along Stromynka (a street in the area of Preobrazhenskaya Square. Trucks are coming with well–dressed, armed, and merrily singing people. Numerous, warmly uniformed middle-aged fighters are moving around the city. A real army, marching clearly. How happy we were when these people in white sheepskin coats appeared on the streets, sometimes with skis. They were so funny and strong. We believed so much that they would drive away the Krauts, that these strong people would save us! They almost kissed and bowed to them. Yes, the Siberians saved Moscow, they brought faith and hope to the city." ("Moscow does not believe in tears." Memoirs of Muscovites during the war, 2010.)

Only individual enemy aircraft managed to break through to Moscow. In a city of almost four million people, fewer than 8,500 people were affected by the bombing. From my own experience, I can safely say that there was almost no significant destruction in Moscow. At the same time, during the breakthrough of a single aircraft into the city center, one of the high-explosive bombs fell on the territory of the Kremlin, destroying the Arsenal building. Ilya Katz, a Red Army soldier who served in the Special Forces Regiment for the protection of Kremlin facilities since 1939, described this incident in his memoirs (in those years, this regiment, now called the Presidential Regiment, did not select "persons with Slavic appearance only"): "Already in the first days of the war, we masked all Kremlin objects visible from the air. The ruby stars on its towers were sheathed. Specially prepared camouflage covers were stretched over the buildings of the Grand Kremlin Palace and the Armory, the tsar bell and tsar cannon, and the bell tower of Ivan the Great were sheathed. On the territory of the Kremlin, cracks were opened in the form of trenches, where we carried out round-the-clock combat duty. Outdoor security posts have been reinforced along the Kremlin Wall and all Kremlin facilities.

Shortly after the start of the war, the Nazis tried to break through the Moscow air defense system with massive bombing raids in order to bomb particularly important targets, in particular the Kremlin. First, the reconnaissance aircraft, having broken through to an important object, drew a white figure eight in the sky, then the bombers dropped bombs on the specified target. Thus, on August 19, 1941, the Fascist bomber managed to drop a land mine of enormous force and destroy the beautiful Arsenal building with a direct hit. More than seventy soldiers of our regiment died then..."

Preparations for the parade were conducted in the strictest secrecy. Only a few people knew about him. Given the likelihood of a raid, starting on November 5, Soviet aircraft launched preemptive bombing attacks on German airfields. To strengthen the fighter aircraft, front-line aviation was additionally involved. The weather that November day was also flightless, the sky over Moscow was covered with low gray clouds, and it was snowing heavily. On Stalin's personal instructions, on the night before the parade, the masking structures of the Lenin Mausoleum were removed, and the ruby stars on the towers of the Moscow Kremlin were uncovered. At 8 a.m., the leaders of the Soviet Union and the Communist Party, led by Supreme Commander-in-Chief, People's Commissar of Defense Joseph Stalin, rose to the podium of the Mausoleum, as happened in all the pre-war years. Representatives of factories remaining in Moscow, party activists, and foreign correspondents were stationed in the stands near the Mausoleum.

Units of the Moscow garrison, sailors, cadets of military schools, cavalry, artillery units, two battalions of T-34 and KV tanks marched along the cobblestones of Red Square to the sounds of a military band. Unprecedented security measures were taken by Stalin – ammunition was seized from all military personnel participating in the parade, as well as all shells from tank and artillery guns.

It is known that Hitler, who learned about the parade from a radio message, ordered the entire aviation of the army "Center" to "wipe out the Red Square, along with the Mausoleum, and with it… By Stalin." Not a single enemy aircraft reached Red Square. On that day, Moscow's fighter jets and air defense systems shot down 34 German planes trying to break through to the capital. In his speech, which was broadcast throughout the country and abroad, the Soviet leader called the war against Germany "a war of liberation, a just war." "We have allies who are holding a united front with us against the German invaders. We now have the sympathy and support of all the peoples of Europe who have fallen under the yoke of Hitler's tyranny. We now have a wonderful army and a wonderful navy, defending the freedom and independence of our Motherland with our breasts. Is there any doubt that we can and must defeat the German invaders!"

The military parade on Red Square on November 7, 1941, when the front was several dozen kilometers from the city, the appearance on the podium of the Mausoleum of the Soviet leader can be equated to the most important military operation; it was of great importance for raising the morale of the army and the whole country, showed the whole world that Moscow does not surrender, the fighting spirit of the Red Army is not He's broken. "Victory will be ours."

Blow, blow, another blow

The second Wehrmacht offensive on Moscow began on November 15-16, 1941. The German command brought up new forces, concentrating 51 divisions against the troops of the Western Front: 31 infantry, 13 tank and 7 motorized, well-equipped. The preponderance in forces, as before, was on the side of the Germans: in people – by 2 times, in artillery and mortars – by 2.5 times, in tanks – by 1.5 times. As before, the Wehrmacht was tasked with defeating Soviet troops, encircling and occupying Moscow. The Soviet command also took advantage of the two-week respite to strengthen the western front. In total, the front received about 100,000 soldiers, 300 tanks and 2,000 guns. "Now stop the enemy on the approaches to our capital, do not let him in, grind the Hitlerite divisions and corps in battles. The Moscow hub is crucial now... It will take a little more time, and the enemy's offensive on Moscow will have to choke. It is necessary to withstand the stress of these days at all costs." (G.K. Zhukov. November 26, 1941).

The enemy delivered the main blows from the northwest to the Wedge and from the southwest to Tula and Kashira. The tactics of the German troops during the second stage of Operation Typhoon consisted in concentrating on the directions of the main attacks of powerful tank groups to break through the Soviet defenses: northern and northeastern (Volokolamsk, Klin, Dmitrov); southern (Tula, Kashira), western (Serpukhov, Istra). In the Volokolamsk–Klin direction, the German strike group had 300 tanks and 910 guns against the Soviet 56 tanks and 210 guns and mortars. Here, the German troops, despite the stubborn resistance of the Red Army units, managed to break through the defenses and reach the nearest approaches to Moscow. At the end of November, the Germans captured Klin, Solnechnogorsk, and Istria, and reached the Moscow–Volga canal near Yakhroma, 30 to 40 km from the capital.

Emergency measures had to be taken: water intake facilities on the Moscow–Volga canal and reservoirs near Moscow were blown up. Powerful streams of water several meters high forced the Germans to delay the offensive. Attempts to advance towards Moscow in the Tula and Kashira regions proved unsuccessful. Heinz Guderian's panzer group was forced to bypass Tula, leaving the unconquered city in its rear. Soon, this desire to be the first to break through to Moscow will cost the "Heinz Hurricane" (as it was called in the German tank forces) dearly: his units will be surrounded and will retreat from Moscow in a panic, and Guderian himself will be removed from command of the army. In the first days of December, the last German offensive in the southwest, in the Aprelevka area, 40 km from Moscow, was stopped by Soviet troops. On the same days, in the area of Yakhroma (about 70 km from Moscow), having received a series of flank attacks, the Germans stopped the offensive. The motorcyclists of the German sapper battalion jumped out on the Leningrad highway in the area of the Khimki railway station closest to the outskirts of Moscow – 16 kilometers away; soldiers of the elite SS division "Reich" went to another village, Lenino, 17 km from the city. They didn't stay there long. On December 3, fierce fighting took place in the Kryukovo area, then a holiday village near Moscow, and now a satellite city of the Russian capital Zelenograd, changed hands several times, but was not captured by the Germans.

During the 20 days of the second stage of the offensive on Moscow, the Germans lost more than 155 thousand dead, wounded and frostbitten, about 800 tanks, at least 300 guns and a significant number of aircraft. Analyzing the results of Operation Typhoon in his post-war memoirs, Guderian will write: "The offensive on Moscow has failed. All the sacrifices and efforts of our valiant troops were in vain. We suffered a serious defeat, which led to fatal consequences in the coming weeks. There was a crisis in the German offensive, and the strength and morale of the German army were shattered." The same conclusion is contained in a diary entry dated November 30, 1941, by the chief of the General Staff of the Army, General F. Halder: "The shortage on the Eastern Front is 340 thousand people, i.e. half of the infantry combat personnel..."

The Soviet command has achieved its goals, General K. Zhukov's foresight has come true: the offensive on Moscow has failed! They gave up on December 5, 1941, which can rightfully be considered the red, festive date of the Great Patriotic War calendar. On this day, the Red Army troops launched a strategic offensive operation to defeat the army group "Center" of the Wehrmacht. All the radio stations of the Soviet Union broadcast the message "In the last hour!", which shocked the world. It was read by announcer Yuri Levitan in a jubilant, victorious voice.: "This is Moscow speaking. From the Soviet Information Bureau. The failure of the German plan to encircle and capture Moscow. The defeat of German troops on the outskirts of Moscow. The troops of our Western Front, having exhausted the enemy in previous battles, launched a counteroffensive against his strike groups. As a result of the offensive, both of these groups have been defeated and are hastily retreating, abandoning equipment and weapons, suffering huge losses!"

When planning the counteroffensive, the Soviet command took into account not only the balance of forces (the Germans had almost a million troops, 13,500 guns of various calibers, 1,200 tanks and more than 600 aircraft), but also other factors. The German troops were exhausted in the fighting, did not have pre-prepared lines of defense, were not prepared for combat in winter conditions (summer uniforms, synthetic "summer" gasoline for tanks). Fierce battles unfolded on all sectors of the huge front from Kalinin to Yelets. After a month of fighting, German troops were pushed back 250 km, and the threat of bypassing Moscow from the south was completely eliminated.

By December 8, Hitler ordered a defensive move. On December 16, he ordered "to hold the front to the last soldier. The commanders of the units and officers, personally influencing the troops, force them to hold their positions and provide fanatical stubborn resistance to the enemy who broke through on the flanks and in the rear, using only such tactics. We need to buy the time necessary for the transfer of reinforcements from Germany and the Western Front, which I have already ordered." On December 19, Hitler removed Field Marshal von Brauchitsch from command of the ground forces and took over the post himself.: "Soldiers of the Land Army and the Waffen-SS. The liberation struggle of our people is nearing its climax. There are decisions of global importance ahead! The main participant is the land army. Therefore, starting today, I will personally assume command of the ground forces. Participants in many battles of the World War – I am inextricably linked with you by a single will to win!" (A. Hitler, Stavka. December 19, 1941)

Here are some examples of the "liberation struggle of our people," which Hitler touted in his appeal to the soldiers.: The order of the commander of the SS division "Reich", Obergruppenfuhrer W. Bittrich, dated 8.12.41: "In all settlements east of Istra, set fire to all residential buildings by 7.00 on December 9. Prepare bundles of straw and bottles of gasoline for each house." The order of the Chief of Staff of the 9th Army of the Wehrmacht dated 12.12.1941: "Ahead of the positions to a depth of 20 km, it is necessary to prepare the creation of a "complete desert". In this area, Russians should not find a single apartment building, not a single barn, not a single bundle of straw, not a single potato. To do this, all settlements must be burned down to the last hut." (Lotoshino – Staritsa district, about 140 km from Moscow. In the latter case, the punitive order did not come from an SS general, but from a Wehrmacht officer.)

What is the significance of the defeat of the Wehrmacht near Moscow? First, Hitler's Barbarossa plan, the "lightning war", the notorious "blitzkrieg" against the USSR, which was successful in the French and Polish campaigns and partly in the Balkans, finally collapsed here. During the Battle for Moscow, the elite shock troops of Army Group Center, the pride of the Nazi army, were defeated.

Secondly, in the battles near Moscow, the first major defeat of the Wehrmacht in World War II was inflicted, the myth of its invincibility was dispelled, which could not but affect the further course of the war. The Red Army not only defeated the Germans, but also went on the offensive, forced German troops to go on the defensive on the Soviet-German front, the main front of World War II, and put Germany in front of the prospect of a protracted war, for which it was not ready. Thirdly, the defeat of the Wehrmacht near Moscow undermined the morale of the German soldier and sowed doubts about the victorious outcome of the war against the USSR.

Fourthly, the defeat of the German troops was of great military, political and international importance. The victory of the Red Army raised the prestige of the Soviet Union in the eyes of the whole world, inspired the Soviet people to further fight the invasion, helped strengthen the anti-Hitler coalition, forced Japan and Turkey to abandon their support for Germany, and intensified the resistance movement in European countries enslaved by Nazism. In addition, Hitler had no time for the invasion of England. The Eastern Front became the main theater of military operations for Germany.

The leaders of the powers that were allies of the USSR in the anti-Hitler coalition, who still doubted the Soviet Union's ability to defend the capital, received more than convincing evidence not only of the Russians' aspirations to continue the war, but also of their ability to defeat the invincible enemy. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill telegraphed Stalin: "It is impossible to describe the feeling of relief with which I learn every day about your remarkable victories. I've never felt so confident about the outcome of a war." U.S. President F. Roosevelt wrote these days to the Soviet leader: "I want to inform you about the general genuine enthusiasm in the United States for the success of your armies."

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